Parents Using Affero Project to Empower Their Children and Teach Compassion

News / Chldren, Empower, featuredmember, giving, Kids

15Apr, 2010

Hey everyone, here’s a little something that I thought was really cool and wanted to share with all of you. I have a great friend and fellow member of the Mosaic church community named Larry. A couple of weeks before Affero launched, I called Larry to tell him all about it. I must admit, the first reason for my call was that I knew he had some spare change, and secondly, I knew I could strong arm him and threaten him enough to get him to cough it up. After all, I’m bigger than he is and he would do anything to avoid me tickling him or picking him up and putting him in my pocket. Just kidding, the real reason I called Larry is because he is a great man with a true servant heart and a burning desire to help those in need.

So, not surprisingly, right after I told Larry about Affero he was on board 100%, and said he’d sign up. Like the noble, handsome (you’re welcome Larry) and generous man he is, he did sign up – with a total of three separate accounts! Three accounts!?!? Yeah, this is the cool part. Larry decided that it would be one thing for he and his beautiful wife Buffy (in this case I actually mean it) to set up an account and give, but it would be even cooler if they could involve their young kids, Benjamin and Savannah. So, Larry and Buffy (who are in the running for Affero’s Parents of the Year award), sat down with the kids at the computer and told them all about The Affero Project and what they could do to be a part of changing the world. They read over the categories, let the kids see what each org needed, and then, after they set up accounts in Benjamin and Savannah’s names, they got to vote for where they wanted their money to go. They were so excited, and were practically begging Larry to go out in the cool Affero t-shirts I promised them (and have yet to deliver), and tell the world the good news. How cool is this? Seriously, what a beautiful vision for connecting with your kids, and in turn, connecting them to their global neighbors in need! Encouraging a life of giving and compassion from a very young age – sweet!

Often times kids grow up thinking that giving to charity is something for their parents to do. Their parents will worry about the orphans, widows and the poor for now – and then someday in the future, it will be their turn to learn what social justice is all about and start giving. But much applause to Larry and Buffy for using their God-given creativity to give their amazing kids a voice in the fight right now. Just imagine what Benjamin and Savannah will be doing ten years from now. I can tell you this much, I know they’ll be doing something extraordinary. So, parents out there, this is a time that it might be good to tear out a page from Larry and Buffy’s parenting playbook. Affero is all about empowering people, and no matter how young your kids may be, they want to be a part of something bigger. They want to help. So consider setting up Affero accounts for them, and just wait to see the joy in their eyes and on their hearts when they get to decide if their dollar is going to be the dollar that is used to dig a well in Africa or for schooling for Dominican kids. It’s a powerful thing, and we are excited to hear the stories of your little kids, doing big things in our world.

Peace & Love,

Beau

April 16th, 2010

Rob Harvey

Good stuff. Last night I was sharing Affero with our 5th grader, Ellie. Her tender heart was looking for how she could help get water to kids in the developing world. When I showed her how she could give $5 through Affero, she lit up!

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April 16th, 2010

Affero

Thats so awesome!! How precious :)

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FAQ

Q: Is The Affero Project a 501c3 organization?

A: Yes, The Affero project is a non-profit 501c3 organization and therefore all gifts and donations are tax deductible.

Q: What does Affero mean?

A: Affero is a Latin word meaning to "bring about", "to proclaim", "to empower". We want to empower the giver to do more with their money than ever dreamed possible, empower the organizations we partner with by funding their projects, and to empower people and communities all around the world where the work is being done.

Q: Why the 12 categories?

A: The 12 categories line up with the United Nations Millenium Development Goals, and then we added a few more we felt were also important.

Q: How does the voting process work?

A: Every community member votes once a month, however voting is weighted according to the amount you give. So, the person giving $10 a month, votes once, but their vote is weighed as 10 votes, or the person giving $35 a month, their vote is weighted as 35 votes.

Q: How do I submit an organization for possible funding?

A: In the footer click the "Nominate an Org" tab. We cant wait to hear your ideas.

Q: why should I donate through The Affrero Project versus giving directly to the various organizations?

A: We actually encourage people to also give directly to the organizations they are passionate about. What The Affero Project does however is allow someone who is passionate about ALL these causes, to give what they can on a monthly basis, then combine their money with everyone else in the community and together fund every category throughout the year. With The Affero Project you’re able to spread your money further and impact the world in a greater way through the power of cooperative giving. Our dream is to be able to release hundreds of thousands of dollars each month to innovative and effective development work being done all around the world, through thousands of people giving their small change.

Q: How does Affero generate funds to operate?

A: The Affero Project was able to launch because of the generous donations and gifts from individuals and foundations. To help us continue our mission to educate, inspire and equip people to help end global poverty and injustice worldwide The Affero Project operates on a 10% split of funds donated. These funds are used for our events, marketing, curriculm development, video and administration. Your giving not only enables communities all around the world, but it also helps us do what we do. This 10% will be reduced as The Affero Project grows. Our desire is to see the maximum amount of funds possible released to our partners and projects around the world while also being able to create quality resources, curriculm, seminars, and events to continue to grow our community and donor base.

(Last Updated February 8, 2010)

1. The Affero Project respects the privacy of all who visit our web site, will not rent or sell your personal information to third parties.

2. The Affero Project collects only that information that you voluntarily provide on our forms. Where visitors do provide such information we will only use it for the purpose of this campaign, and will only reveal contact information or use quotations in a public context only after having obtained specific permission.

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